The name Styracosaurus means “spiked reptile“. It had a frill adorned with 6 horns as well as a nasal horn about 60 cm long. This served as a means of defense against predators. It was short-legged with a massive body, which must have made it quite slow. This herbivore had a beak similar to a parrot’s as well as rows of flat teeth for crushing. It mainly ate low vegetation such as palms or ferns. It could have used its horn to reach higher vegetation, but that remains a hypothesis. Its feet resembled hooves.
This gregarious dinosaur lived in small herds of 3 to 5 individuals. It was not the largest ceratopsid; Triceratops, Pentaceratops, and Torosaurus were bigger.
2 species of Styracosaurus have been described: Styracosaurus albertensis and Styracosaurus ovatus.